GRAND RAPIDS - Madison Avenue couldn't deliver the kind of good - and free - publicity for Kmart that has come from people walking into the retailer's stores and paying off the layaway bills of strangers.

It could be tempting for Kmart, which like many of its working class customers has struggled in these tough economic times, to take advantage of this opportunity. But the retailer says it has no plans to try to cash in on the Secret Santa phenomenon of the last week to try to boost its bottom line during this make-or-break-it holiday season.

“The beauty of this is that it's organic and coming from the customers and not from us,” said Salima Yala, the retailer's division vice president for layaway. “It's being driven by outside the company. It's just people to people.”

While these stories might help brighten the Kmart brand, so far they haven't translated to either a spike in sales or layaway accounts, according to Yala. But the nearly four-decade, year-round program has benefited from a bump of use since 2008 when it was re-introduced to customers during the credit crunch of the Great Recession.

Other than answering reporters' questions, Kmart is taking a hands-off approach to this story of the Christmas spirit set against a retail backdrop and enjoying it like the rest of us.